She was born on March 31, 1938. She has a Master of Arts degree from Delhi University. She has two children, one son and one daughter.
She took over as chief minister of Delhi on December 3, 1998 after the Congress, led by her in Delhi, swept the assembly polls. The second woman CM of Delhi, she is an experienced politician representing Gole Market Constituency in the Delhi Assembly.
She has also served as a Union Minister during 1986-1989, first as the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and later as a Minister of State in the Prime Minister's office. During the period between 1984 and 1989, she represented Kannauj Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh. As a member of Parliament, she served on the Estimates Committee of Lok Sabha. She also chaired the Implementation Committee for Commemoration of Forty Years of India's Independence and Jawaharlal Nehru centenary.
Championing the cause of women at various fora, she had represented India at UN Commission on Status of Women for five years (1984-1989). She, alongwith 82 colleagues, was jailed by the Government of Uttar Pradesh in August 1990 when she led a people's movement against the atrocities being committed on women. Earlier, in early 1970s, she was chairperson of the Young Women's Association and was instrumental in the setting up two of most successful hostels for working women in Delhi.